I absolutely love the 8 3/8" barrel, there is just something about the way it looks. Have 3 myself, a 617, 686 and 629. I can well remember the magazines from 20-30 years ago, every time they would feature say a 6" or 6 1/2" S & W in story or a test, they would put an 8 3/8" on the cover even though it (the 8 3/8") was not mentioned at all in the feature story. Must be a reason...sex sells everything, magazines especially and 8 3/8" barrels are sexy.